Make note of the selling price of the product offering the free shipping promo and shop around for that same product being offered from a dealer that calculates shipping separately. You'll find in most cases, the item offered by the seller providing the free shipping is substantially higher in price than the same product offered with shipping calculated separately.
Obviously, those who offer "free shipping" build the cost of shipping into the price of the product. I recently discovered a video on ebay promoting the practice of including the price of shipping within the product price and promoting it as "free shipping". Shipping charges are very expensive these days given the cost of fuel, packing materials and labor. Shipping costs are calculated in part by the destination of the package, so it would be difficult to know exactly how much to mark an item up to cover postage going to different parts of the world. Many sellers opt to calculate shipping to the furthest point and add that amount to the price of the product. In a case like this, a person living 20 miles from the seller will pay the same shipping charge as the buyer living 2,000 miles away. What's wrong with that picture?
The moral of this story is "free" doesn't always mean free. Shop around for the best price before selecting a seller to purchase from.
--Bruce Zubee
Zubee is Director of Online Marketing and Operations for Chuck and Eddie's and Mitchell's Auto Parts. The opinions stated above are his own and don't necessarily reflect the opinions of Chuck and Eddie's or Mitchell's Auto Parts.
